Doctors battling the Zika virus outbreak in Brazil fear the rising number of infants being born with microcephaly are resulting in more young mothers being abandoned by their partners.

While the tragedy of poor children being forced to grow up without their biological father is nothing new in Brazil, where 1 in 3 children from poor families are forced to endure such circumstances, the onslaught of the virus has only made matters worse.

Health Services Already Under Strain

With health services already under strain, abortion prohibited, and the virus hitting the poorest hardest, an absent father is yet another harsh reality for many young mothers already struggling to cope with prospect of rearing a child who may never walk or talk.

Ianka Barbosa was 7 months pregnant when she found out her child had microcephaly. Before the baby was even born, the father had already abandoned them both.

The 18-year-old Barbosa now shares she feels the break-up came about because of her child's condition, which doctors have attributed to the Zika virus she contracted before giving birth.

"I think, for him, it was my fault the baby has microcephaly," she told Reuters.

At a nearby specialized microcephaly clinic in Campina Grande, psychologist Jacqueline Loureiro shares the situation Barbosa now finds herself in is nothing new. At the clinic, she works with some 41 women, many of them already battling extreme stress and traumatization.

Of the women she works with, she estimates only about 10 have the emotional support of their partner

"At first many of the women say they have a partner, but as you get to know them better you realize the father is never around and the baby and mother have effectively been abandoned," Loureiro said.

In Brazil, gender roles remain strictly defined and women still tend to care for the baby and look after the home. Anything that runs afoul of that tends to strain the dynamic, and having a child born with such a serious illness is proving to be no exception.

Data on Zika Still Scare

Much remains unknown about Zika, including whether it actually causes microcephaly in babies. What is known is since October there have been 745 cases of microcephaly reported in Brazil, with most of them being linked to Zika infections in the mothers. The government there adds it is currently investigating another 4,230 suspected cases of microcephaly.

The World Health Organization recently declared Zika a global health emergency. Up until then, no data had been kept on microcephaly on the toll it was exacting on parents everywhere.

The Latin Post previously reported the disease has now started to take its toll on the Latin America economy. With the Brazilian economy already in the midst of an exaggerated economic downturn, the outspread of microcephaly now has many pregnant women reconsidering their plans to visit the country, adding yet another drag on the tourism economy.

A new report recently revealed airline booking to Latin America noticeably declined after U.S. officials warned travelers about the Zika virus.

Overall, bookings to Latin America regions hit by the mosquito-borne virus fell by 3.4 percent compared to a year ago after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control issued a travel advisory back in early February.

In all, the World Bank reports the virus could lead to at least a $3.5 billion downturn in the Latin America economy in 2016.

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